In the second of our three-part series celebrating female leaders in luxury and fashion, we speak to the women who founded thriving global fashion labels about their journeys in design and their learnings along the way
For Jane Gottschalk and Wannasiri Kongman, the births of their respective brands were almost accidental, fuelled by a little bit of gusto and naivety. Looking back, they have a few words of wisdom to share. “In today’s world I’d say think very long and hard before jumping in and starting your own brand,” says Kongman, who is the founder of cult handbag label Boyy. “You need to have a lot of time, money and a willingness to make great sacrifices.”
Gottschalk, on the other hand, wishes she had received more formal education in business. “I learned everything on the job while building brands, which is the entrepreneurial way of jumping in before checking on the parachute, but I’d encourage anyone to slow down and first focus on the basic mechanics of a business, as well as the top line vision because without that, it’s all just a good idea,” says the founder of skiwear brand Perfect Moment.
In case you missed it: Ladies Who Lead: The fashion chiefs at Farfetch, 3.1 Phillip Lim, MCM, Tibi and Citizens of Humanity share their advice to budding CEOs in luxury
Regina Pyo and Saloni Lodha, both women of colour, experienced their fair share of prejudice early on in their journeys. “There were moments when I felt the weight of stereotypes and biases, whether subtle or overt,” says Pyo, founder of her eponymous contemporary womenswear label. “Breaking through preconceived notions and carving out a space for myself demanded resilience and determination.”
“Most of my life when I was growing up in a traditional Indian family I was told that I could not go to university or work because I am a girl,” says Lodha, who founded Saloni, a modern fashion label infused with her Indian heritage. “My life was meant to be all about studying religion and getting into an arranged marriage. Breaking that mould was huge for me.”
One struggle the fashion founders all share is, all being mothers, balancing being an attentive parent with their demanding careers. Thankfully as creatives, they are well-equipped to find solutions, often by learning from the women who came before them. “When I was growing up in Hong Kong my grandmother was a force of nature,” says Sandra Choi, creative director of Jimmy Choo. “She was making and fixing everything herself, which then instilled the idea in me that if you put your mind to it, there is always a way. I'm a designer so I need to find solutions to deliver an idea and I apply this thinking to everything.”
Read on for the full interview with each woman, edited for clarity.
Wannasiri “Boy” Kongman, co-founder of Boyy
